


Lucky for You That's What I Like

by SuperQatarGirl



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Cooking, Eating Together, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Hunting, Marriage Proposal, Post War Phase, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pre-Relationship, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Spoilers for Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Swordfighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26239444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperQatarGirl/pseuds/SuperQatarGirl
Summary: The things they like that bring them closer together.(Don't pay the title too much mind, it just popped in my head. And I just kinda like the song.)
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

Some part of Felix was glad that the coward that had originally been hired as this year’s third professor had fled when the house leaders were ambushed by bandits. In the short time that he had been at the monastery, Felix had despised the older man’s very presence. He had been weak, not just physically but also in will. Thankfully, having to be taught by such a lackluster instructor was no longer a thought Felix had to dread.

The young Fraldarius had tried to corner the newly appointed professor as soon as he could after the mock battle at the monastery’s outskirts. B-something. Her name started with a ‘B’, but everyone else just seemed to call her ‘Professor’, so he supposed that would do. Unfortunately for him, she was impossible to find the day after the Blue Lions’ first victory, so Felix retreated to the only place he knew to occupy his time.

He was not left there to stew too long, however, as near sunset the professor strolled in, those weird sleeves on her coat swaying behind her as she moved forward resolutely, face as blank as he had ever seen it. He’d stopped her in her tracks towards the rack of training swords, and noticed that she still hadn’t removed her own blade from its scabbard on her hip. She’d been at the monastery for a few weeks at this point, but he supposed old habits died hard, doubly so for a mercenary.

He asked her to train with him, to show him how she fought, and after a bit of back and forth – and a question or two that hit a bit too close to home for Felix’s liking – they began their session. They started with brawling, where she easily bested him, though commented that he held his own rather well. That’s not how it felt to Felix, so he took that statement with a huff and a scrunched nose. They then proceeded to sword combat, which was a closer match, though not necessarily by much, and the professor still took it. This time she made no comment on how well he did, instead taking to critiquing his work. Good, this was what he wanted, what he needed.

When they were done, and Felix was thoroughly exhausted, the professor simply took a deep breath and mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like “reason would be good” and strolled from the training grounds after giving a sharp nod to the young man on the floor. He continued to lay there for a while, steadying his breathing and heartbeat, the corner of his mouth creeping up a bit.

Yep, he liked this. This was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felix likes - Fighting


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn’t often that the students of the Officers Academy were required to go secure provisions besides what they could purchase in town, but on the rare occasion where it was necessary, it was not uncommon for Felix to volunteer for the hunting trips. He did, after all, enjoy the activity quite a bit.

And now he would get to do it with the professor – and Leonie, because of course she would insist on tagging along –, and he had no doubts that she was quite adept at the task. Living life the way she had meant that she was competent at many skills that most of his peers were not even familiar with, and that variety was refreshing. Most of the hunting any of his fellows did were of the pompous variety: mounted on horses, a veritable legion of hunting dogs doing all of the actual work. That was not how this was going to be, and that was just how the young man liked it.

The professor had instructed both of the other members of their little hunting party that they needed to prepare themselves to leave the monastery before sunrise if they wanted any chance of catching good game out in one of the many forests in the area, and Felix found himself being thankful for the fact that he was an early riser when he had to be. Even more than that, he was thankful that the professor had decided that he learn how to use a bow, instead of that vague threat of honing his skills in reasoning she’d spouted after their first spar. A bow and arrow were far more practical than firing off spells, and he’d already had a bit of experience in that field before the tutoring began.

Readjusting the bow slung over his shoulder, Felix made his way towards the main gates of the monastery, suppressing a yawn behind a clenched fist. He might have been good at waking early, but without sunlight it would always be difficult to convince his body to be awake, even if his mind was as sharp as it usually was. When he saw the professor already standing by the closed gates, checking on her own bow and quiver full of arrows, he once again couldn’t help but admire her silent dedication to everything she did. If something, anything, needed doing she just did it, no bullshit. That was, sadly, a rare attitude to have, as Felix had discovered during his time at the Academy.

The professor said a brief ‘good morning’ when Felix got close enough, never taking her eyes off her equipment, and he nodded back with a light grunt. Leonie arrived not too long after, surprise, if not shock, clear in her eyes as she approached. Felix suspected that her reaction was more directed at him than their professor. After quickly taking stock of their equipment for the day and a brief set of instructions, the three were off to what would hopefully be a fruitful day.

This, thankfully, did indeed turn out to be the case, and by noon the three of them returned, having caught, skinned and butchered several deer. This haul should at least be able to help tide over the monastery’s food supply, especially if stored properly. Felix half-remembered something about other hunting parties going out on similar errands, but his mind was too tired to recall things like that with any great clarity at the moment.

The trip had been more taxing than he’d originally anticipated, but this was not unwelcome. He’d clearly underestimated Professor Byleth’s expectations for their excursion, as well as her own level of stamina with the task. She’d been the one to take down the most prey, not that Felix would ever admit out loud that he had been keeping score between the three of them. At least he’d taken down one of the bigger bucks.

His mind returned to that moment: his steady breathing; the feel of air whipping past him as he loosed the arrow; how pleased he’d felt with himself about that kill in particular. The steady hand on his shoulder as Professor Byleth said a quiet ‘well done’ and walked forward with her skinning knife in hand. He’d felt pleased with that recognition, too. Another thing that he would never admit.

And when he finally went to sleep that night – after filling the rest of the day with his usual training regimen – he still vaguely felt that steadying pressure on his shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felix likes - Hunting


	3. Chapter 3

Lunch today smelled especially good, Felix suddenly realised as he left the training grounds for the first time since arriving that morning. He took in a deep breath, catching more of the smell, and let out a satisfied exhale. He was actively looking forward to his next meal now, which was not a thing he did often. Of course, he enjoyed most of his meals at the monastery well enough, but this was just especially mouth-watering, and Felix’s steps subconsciously sped up as he got closer to the dining hall.

As he entered, however, he was a bit disappointed at seeing no sign of what he had smelled, though the kitchen staff were milling about, busy bringing out various dishes for the buffet that was usually provided. Taking another sniff of the air, Felix confirmed that he could definitely still smell the dish, that he hadn’t just dreamed it up in his hungry state. That was when he caught sight of Professor Byleth standing in the public corner of the monastery kitchens, Dedue and Ashe by her side. 

Taking a few more steps towards the trio, Felix saw exactly what he’d been hoping to: grilled venison, covered in a generous helping of spices. He swallowed a bit more audibly than usual at the sight and resigned himself to waiting for that particular dish to be done before grabbing lunch. He thankfully found himself a solitary seat not too far from the buffet table, and proceeded to lean back in his chair with arms crossed and eyes closed. Maybe if he allowed himself to doze off for a little while the food would be ready faster.

When he suddenly smelled the food more strongly than before, Felix’s eyes shot back open to see Professor Byleth sitting across from him at the table, cutting the venison on her plate into edible pieces. Her eyes snapped up to meet his after a second or two and quickly glanced down at the table in front of him. Felix felt confused for a brief moment before his gaze followed her own and found a plate of the food for himself.

Slowly uncrossing his arms, Felix scooted back in the chair, sitting himself upright, his eyes still focused on the plate before him. Yep, this was the venison alright, and it somehow managed to smell even better up close. The corners of his mouth crept up ever so slightly as his brows smoothed from their naturally furrowed state just a bit.

“That looks appetising,” he said, maybe a bit louder than he meant to, and heard a huff in response. His eyes darted back up and he saw Professor Byleth, who clearly had unchewed food in her mouth, half hiding a smile behind the hand that held her fork.

“I had a feeling you’d like some,” she said in what sounded like a pleased tone and began to chew on her own food again. Felix only blinked a time or two before picking up his own utensils and cutting himself a piece.

It was good. Still pink on the inside – so that even the picky eaters could handle it, though Felix personally preferred his meat on the redder side – and richly, hotly spiced. Thankfully, Professor Byleth had had enough forethought to include a bit of salad and a few slices of bread on the plate with the venison, just to lessen the blow a little bit, should that be necessary.

Teacher and student didn’t say much to each other after that, and no one attempted to come sit down with them, for which Felix was thankful. This was… nice, in its own way, he thought as he took a small bite of bread. And with as discreet a glance across the table as he could manage, he could tell that Byleth liked this, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felix likes - Meats & Spicy Foods


	4. Chapter 4

“Finally, I notched a win against you,” she heard him say, having calmed his breathing, a genuine, happy smile on his face. His head was bowed down and his eyes were closed, but Byleth could tell just how much this meant to Felix. That she would soon find out exactly why that was the case, came as a bit of a surprise to her. He had never opened up to her in this way before. Sure, there were things that she had always been able to tell, simply from how he swung his sword on any particular day, but this… all of the things he had to say about Glenn, who she’d heard so much about from basically everyone that was _not_ Felix… it meant something special, she knew as much. Those could not be easy memories.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel pleased with herself, just a little bit, that she had managed to bring a genuine smile to Felix’s usually dour face. She knew that quite a lot of his appearance was out of his control: he, like Byleth herself, was born with the corners of his mouth downturned just the slightest bit and with brows set sternly above sunken eyes – so seeing a grin so obvious from him seemed somehow… _more_ than when it came from the others. She liked seeing that smile, it added youth to his features. Not that he was really in short supply.

She wanted to see smiles on his face more often. Not the cocky little half-smirk that she’d see rear its head from time to time back when his hair was longer and his shoulders less broad, but smiles like the one that she had just witnessed as he came to terms with a grief that he had held onto for nearly a decade. Relieved, relaxed. _Free_.

A small part of her considered that the easiest way to achieve such a goal might be to simply allow him to win more sparring matches... But she knew that if he found out that she had been throwing fights on purpose he’d be furious with her, and that was the opposite of what she wanted, so she dismissed that thought as quickly as it had come to her. 

There were bound to be other, better ways to ensure that that smile would return. And Byleth swore to herself to find them. She liked it too much not to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Byleth likes – Smiles
> 
> (Felix, post-A Support: Oh shi-)


	5. Chapter 5

This was… difficult. As if their situation were not already precarious enough with a full-scale, continent-wide war going on, Dimitri was… a wild card, to put it mildly. ‘Loose cannon’ seemed more apt. She had thought that with the arrival of Rodrigue the prince might begin to see reason, but even as the duke was speaking, Byleth could see no change in the light behind Dimitri’s eyes. He simply wasn’t listening. Not to Gilbert, not to Rodrigue, not to her. Only ever the voices in his head.

His newfound recklessness in battle made him difficult to plan around and Byleth often went many hours into the night trying to solve this problem alone. No strategy could account for a man that did not care for his own life, that wanted to _die_. He would do whatever it took for his departed loved ones to have peace and to perhaps allow himself to have the same some day. This was all so very difficult.

But at this moment, where they stood in war council, it was not what he did in battle that was on her mind, but rather what he might do if he continued to get riled up so. It had been yet another attempt on her part to convince Dimitri to shift targets from Enbarr to Fhirdiad, to think of the people living in squalor and under the oppressive rule of Cornelia – whoever she was, exactly –, conditions that he himself had seen! All the prince did in response was straighten to his full height, cross his arms over his chest and stare down his nose at her in that way he always did these days when someone suggested something he did not want to hear. Having grown over the course of the five years that had lapsed since last Byleth set foot in the monastery, Dimitri now towered over nearly every person in their small fighting force – Byleth could not rightly call them an army, not even with the addition of Rodrigue’s troops – so it was an effective display, more often than not.

Byleth, however, was standing her ground today, and part of her feared what her former student might be willing to do to get her to back down. Throughout that entire exchange between former teacher and house leader a presence had lingered over Byleth’s shoulder, a presence she knew only too well. Felix had shown remarkable patience with the entire situation as he stood behind Byleth, hand more than likely resting on the pommel of one of his swords, as it had always done when he felt tense.

There was something incredibly grounding in feeling that second presence with her as she faced up to the lost soul in front of her. Felix had, in fact, been a steady presence whenever she had had to stand against Dimitri’s wishes or even just when she had to make tough decisions. The first time she remembered feeling his silent support so overtly was when she declared her wish to retake Fhirdiad. His shoulders had pulled back minutely and he had held his head almost imperceptibly higher. Somehow, she had known exactly what that meant, and even when her wish was dismissed immediately and the war council soon thereafter, Felix had given a sharp, silent nod, their eyes purposefully locked. Byleth responded with a nod of her own, a slower movement and then the swordsman had been on his way to accomplish his assigned duties.

And this trust extended even onto the battlefield, the place where he had always been the most free-willed in the past. Now, he took orders without hesitation or protest. He still took decisive action on his own, perhaps his second strongest suit, but he never veered off the course that she had plotted for their battle. Felix… trusted her, with his very life, and, in turn, she knew that she could rely on him, come hell or high water.

Felix had many times said that he despised blind obedience and loyalty and Byleth had always very much agreed with that sentiment. But simply knowing that there was someone that would stand by and with her, always trusting in her to know what she was doing and would lend his strength in whatever way he could to help accomplish her goals… there was no feeling quite like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Byleth likes – Reliable Allies & Being Trusted


	6. Chapter 6

_“I want you to be my wife. Please say yes. Let’s get married and stay together until we die._

_“I love you.”_

The official wedding ceremony between Archbishop and Duke was set to take place in exactly a week. Rings and vows would be exchanged in the traditional way, hopefully satisfying any that felt the need to complain about any part of their more unorthodox courtship. It was to be overseen by the King of Faerghus and the Advisor to the Archbishop, making sure everything was in perfect order. It would be a grand affair, with room for members of the general public.

Three days before that, a smaller ceremony would be held between tactician and swordsman. Only close friends – those that were like family – were invited to this gathering, to watch the bride- and groom-to-be quietly dedicate their lives to one another. This was to be the day that all of the guests remembered as the true wedding day, one much more befitting of the couple than the extravaganza to come.

However, today was the day where Felix truly felt nervous. Today there were no titles, no obligations, no eyes on them. There was just Felix Hugo Fraldarius and Byleth Eisner, and the giving of a gift that he hoped she would find as meaningful as he intended it to be.

He fiddled with the Sword of Moralta, not for the first time that day, and part of him was certain that it would not be the last, either. Felix tried to remind himself that he’d technically already done the difficult part of this whole process – actually _asking_ the woman he only recently recognised he loved to marry him – but it did little to calm his quickened pulse. Sure, he’d thrust a ring at her, but that was a _ring_. And this was his family’s heirloom sword, the blade that he was intending to now give to her.

Blades were the tools of destiny in Faerghus – now north-western Faerghus, he remembered briefly –, and what better way to show her his intentions than by presenting her with the very blade that his family had used to carve out its place in the history of Fódlan since time immemorial? Except… he wasn’t really sure if she knew any of this. Knew about the sword, about the folk tradition, anything! This was why he was nervous, Felix acknowledged to himself, letting his head drop in defeat before this battle had even truly begun. All he had been doing was wrestling with himself and already he felt mentally and emotionally exhausted. But he had promised himself that he would go through with this, he resolutely reminded himself, returning the Sword of Moralta to its scabbard.

And just in time, as Byleth swung open the doors to the star terrace right as the sacred sword made that satisfying click, signifying that it was now nestled securely in its sheath. The first thing Felix noticed about his fiancée – he still was not used to that, and he’d be calling her his _wife_ in a _week_ – was the extra scabbard on her hip, and his brows furrowed a little deeper in confusion. The war was over, though skirmishes still occurred; surely, she didn’t need a second sword. But he supposed old habits died hard, especially for a former mercenary. He smiled a bit at that. She really hadn’t changed, not deep down.

She smiled back at him as she continued to approach where he stood, both of them raising a hand at the same time, wanting to greet each other just that bit quicker. These next seven days were going to be hectic in a way that was wholly foreign to both of them and they would not necessarily have a lot of time to spend in each other’s presence during the waking hours. Someone had even yelled something about not seeing each other for a while before the wedding, but all Felix and Byleth had done was look at the old coot sceptically and continue on with their day. There were more important things that required their attention. Like each other.

Hands touched and eyes locked, and the relief was instant. Byleth felt as Felix’s pulse slowed back down to its usual steadiness, her thumb gently running back and forth across his wrist. She didn’t know what could have caused his blood to race so: there was no hint of a flush to his cheeks or sweat on his brow, and his breathing was perfectly steady, so physical exertion was clearly not to blame for this.

Slowly raising her second hand, Byleth placed it gently at the nape of Felix’s neck, twiddling a few loose strands of hair between her fingers, and shortly felt the gesture returned in kind. It wasn’t really all that important how their foreheads ended up softly touching, only that they did, just as every other night they took for themselves. They simply stood there, enjoying the quiet, steady breathing between them and the calming warmth their points of contact offered.

Felix was the first to break their moment of respite by taking in a deep breath that had Byleth reopening her eyes. The corners of his mouth had turned down once more, though not in anything resembling anger, and again Byleth felt the pulse beneath her fingers quicken.

“What’s the matter?” she asked quietly, prompting Felix to finally open his own eyes again, something akin to worry shimmering in his copper irises. He took another few seconds of silence, clearly very deep in thought. Byleth knew better than to interrupt such a moment, so all she did was allow her thumb to brush gently along the base of his skull.

“There is…,” he began, voice tense, nose scrunched slightly in dissatisfaction, “something I want you to have.” Oh, well, it seemed that they were about to go through this whole ordeal one more time. Hopefully, the swordsman had improved in his ability to communicate his softer intentions since last they had found themselves in a situation like this one.

As Felix turned to face away from her, Byleth noticed the abandoned scabbard on the ground for the first time and began to wonder when she had become so inattentive as to miss something so obvious. When Felix bent down to pick it up, Byleth wondered what exactly this could possibly have to do with what he ‘wanted her to have’; perhaps he had meant that he wished to give her the fight of her life. That would not have been unlike him, he had promised her something akin to that on several occasions prior to this one.

But as Felix simply rose back to his full height and turned around to face her again, the sheathed blade resting gently in the palms of his hands, Byleth could only blink in astonishment at what she now understood to be… a gift. One that she was far more familiar with than any piece of jewellery he could have ever given her. The sight of the proffered weapon also reminded the former mercenary of her own intentions in coming here, finally bringing her attention back to the extra weight on her hip.

So instead of giving Felix a verbal response, or even simply taking his gift in silence, Byleth’s hand slipped down to unfasten the extra belt that she had been wearing for most of the day, and raised the sword and sheath attached to it in a display that mirrored Felix’s own. _Mercurius_ , she remembered the blacksmith calling this particular blade once it had been reforged, and she had asked why it carried a name with it. After the most in-depth explanation of the War of the Eagle and Lion that Byleth had ever gotten from anyone, and learning this sword’s exact role in those events – as well as the more precise meaning of the name itself – she could only think of one thing to do with this weapon reborn. That she was also very poignantly reminded of something Dimitri had once explained to her about blades and destiny in Faerghus only made her even more sure of her decision.

Silence reigned between the two of them for a while, Felix’s gaze locked firmly on the sword offered to him, while Byleth watched him closely for any other reactions. Slowly, his grip on his own weapon shifted so that he held it in only one of his hands and Byleth once again mirrored his action. Felix’s eyes darted back up to her own at that, and as small, gentle smiles grew on both their faces, they each reached forward their sword-hands and opened their other palms to receive what was being offered to them.

Neither wasted any time in inspecting their newest gifts and Felix felt his brows shoot up as he observed the craftsmanship of this extraordinary weapon, only vaguely registering the name carved into the sheath. This blade was superb; even just holding it like this he could tell that it was perfectly balanced, and he immediately wanted to try giving it a swing. But he stopped himself, having briefly forgotten about the gift he had given, caught up in his own excitement as he was.

Looking back up to the woman in front of him, Felix was surprised to see her minty eyes going glassy with tears and panic immediately shot through his system. Did he somehow manage to do the wrong thing? Was this not the right gift to give her? Oh goddess, what if he had to take it ba-? His fears instantly dissipated, however, when he saw Byleth’s mouth pull up into the brightest smile he had ever seen from her.

She… liked the gifted sword. She was happy with the gift he had given her. Felix released a breath that he did not know he had been holding. And once again, his breathing attracted Byleth’s attention, her gaze rising back up to lock with his softened eyes of molten copper.

Re-sheathing the Sword of Moralta, Byleth once more reached up a hand to the back of Felix’s neck, but instead of connecting their foreheads, this time she brought her lips to his own. She felt Felix respond in kind, after a short moment of hesitation, and though the kiss was a brief one it was no less filled with gentle love and affection than any of the others that the two of them had shared.

“We will carve the paths to our futures together,” she whispered in a tone she almost feared was too quiet for Felix to hear, their noses brushing lightly together. Watching the corners of his eyes crinkle in the way she knew meant that he was smiling was all the confirmation she needed to know that he had most definitely heard her.

“Together,” he whispered back, purposefully nuzzling his own nose against hers, eliciting a quiet laugh.

They were to be married in a week. On that day they would officially become husband and wife. But as far as either of them were concerned, they were inextricably bound together as of today, and no one else needed to know that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They Both like - High Quality Weapons & Swords (especially)
> 
> Why Mercurius, specifically: https://fireemblem.fandom.com/wiki/Mercurius#Etymology
> 
> Now is also the time for me to admit that this entire endeavour was massively inspired by that one piece of art Ribelle made of them giving each other swords. I had to take a moment when I read that Byleth likes swords. How were these two not destined for each other when the game officially tells us things like this?
> 
> Anyway, I am weak for unconventional (but still clearly healthy) romance and I hope you enjoyed reading this!


End file.
